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A Presnel Kimpembe own goal allowed Ukraine to leave Paris with a point as reigning champions France began their FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign on a disappointing note.,
France took the lead courtesy a beautiful curling strike from Antoine Griezmann. The Barcelona forward unleashed an inch-perfect shot from outside the box to put Les Bleus ahead after 19 minutes, beating the Ukrainian goalkeeper Heorhiy Bushchan with ease.
Continuing their first-half dominance, France looked to extend their lead after the interval. However, against the run of play, Ukraine restored parity in the 57th minute, as Presnel Kimpembe inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
Kingsley Coman and Kylian Mbappe looked to restore France's lead but couldn't do so, with goal-scorer Griezmann also struggling to create anything significant.
With the hard-fought draw, Andriy Shevchenko's men, who have beaten the likes of Portugal and Spain, are unbeaten in their last nine World Cup or Euro qualifying games.
On that note, let's take a look at the five talking points from the game.
#1 Olivier Giroud's profligacy hurts France
A game where Ukraine created close to zero clear-cut chances, France created a few opportunities up front.
Olivier Giroud, France's second-highest top scorer of all time, however, failed to convert a regulation tap-in from ten yards out. Moments later, the Chelsea forward headed a brilliant Pavard cross high over the crossbar.
These were two chances which he normally puts away. Giroud's profligacy in front of goal inhibited France's attack to the extent that Didier Deschamps took off the striker for Paul Pogba in the 63rd minute.
#2 Ukraine choke France with their formation and tactics
Andriy Shevchenko has shown plenty of trust in his defensive 5-3-2 set-up, which switches into a 3-5-2 during possession for Ukraine. Although France exploited the wide areas quite comfortably in the first half, they were not given any space to run behind the Ukrainian defence after conceding the equaliser.
France asked questions of the Ukrainian back three. But the reigning champions did not have a sniff at goal in the final 30 minutes of the game.
France's wingers were always accompanied by two defenders, while the two strikers up front for Ukraine attempted to run the channels, attacking the wide areas left by Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard. Les Bleus had 18 attempts but only three shots on target, which summed up the story of the game.
#3 Mykola Matviyenko - A talent going under the radar
The 24-year-old Mykola Matviyenko is one of the best players in the country, something he showed against France in Paris.
But the Ukrainian centre-back has not had much attention and appreciation coming his way. There were some links to Arsenal and Manchester City in the last two years, but Shakhtar Donetsk are yet to receive any offers for the player.
To stand out against a front three of Mbappe, Griezmann and Coman is a prize in itself, and Matviyenko did that in some style. He was by far the best Ukraine player on the pitch. And despite a shaky start, the young centre-back gave Coman and Benjamin Pavard quite a tough time to go past him.
With six clearances, three tackles, three interceptions and 70% duels won, Matviyenko-led Ukraine kept things tight at the back and made sure France failed to win.
#4 Antoine Griezmann moves to fourth in France's all-time goal-scoring list
Another day, another masterclass from Antoine Griezmann in national colours. One of the few shining lights for Deschamps on the night, the embattled Barcelona forward scored a beautiful goal.
It was his 34th for Les Bleus, which moved him joint-fourth in the country's all-time goal-scorers list.
Griezmann had a decent outing against Ukraine. He dropped in between the lines, sometimes as deep as the halfway line, to collect the ball and start attacks for France.
#5 Is Presnel Kimpembe, the right partner for Raphael Varane?
Presnel Kimpembe is an aerially adept defender, possesses good passing prowess and is comfortable in a back four. But the 25-year-old is prone to errors, which leads to questions about whether he is the perfect partner for Raphael Varane in the long run.
The decline of Samuel Umtiti has led to this conundrum. At the moment, Umtiti looks far from making it to the France team, so Deschamps has Presnel Kimpembe and Clement Lenglet as his two left-footed centre-back options.
Aymeric Laporte was surprisingly not called up to the squad, a defender, who on paper is better than both the aforementioned options. Meanwhile, Kurt Zouma is preferably a player who normally plays instead of Varane and not alongside him.
Deschamps and his men travel to Kazakstan next, and it would be interesting to see if the manager gives Kimpembe another chance or looks to change things.
With Kimpembe scoring an own goal in an abject France performance, he is unlikely to start on the weekend, despite almost scoring a dramatic late winner on the night.
